Without developing more and better leaders, it's unlikely that you'll realize all that God has in mind for your church. Yes, God can do anything, He doesn't "need" us, but He chose us. This is his plan. In His divine wisdom, God has chosen to extend His kingdom through us.

Jesus modeled leadership development. He gathered the 70, selected the 12 disciples, and he was close to Peter, James and John. Jesus invested in them. He spent time with them, taught them, corrected them, cared about them and empowered them to preach the gospel, heal the sick and carry out the kingdom of God.

I'm grateful for the mentors who have so generously invested in me. Candidly, without them I can't imagine where I'd be, and it's highly unlikely that I'd be writing to you today.

Their passion has rubbed off on me, and for decades now, it's been my privilege to develop other leaders. Second only to someone's salvation, there's just nothing like helping someone grow as a leader. That experience leads to a legacy that anyone who develops leaders can enjoy.

Vision – Developing leaders is the best way to realize the full measure of your vision to reach people for Christ. You just can't do it alone, raising up more leaders is essential.

Heart – The best developers of leaders genuinely care about the men and women they invest in... it's not only to grow the church, it's first to grow the person.

Skill – When you develop leaders inside an organization like the local church, there are certain skills required to be effective.

I've written a book titled Amplified Leadership: 5 Practices to Establish Influence, Build People and Impact Others for a Lifetime.

If you would like more in-depth content on these 10 skills, you can order the book here. Amplified Leadership will teach you how to improve these skills.

But in this post, I want to give you the outline at a glance.

Before we jump into the outline, let me offer these three principles:

If it's a skill, it can be learned. The 10 skills I will outline can be taught and learned.

You may already have a good grasp of all 10 skills, but that doesn't mean you maintain those skills at a higher lever or larger church. You need to continually learn them as you grow and the church grows.

They are listed in a sequential fashion. They begin more basic and get more nuanced. However, leadership development rarely runs in a straight line. It's not linear. This is just the best way to learn and teach it.

Leadership Outcome Desired and Leadership Skills Required:Establish a Relationship—Connect and AppreciateEngage a Follower—Encourage and InspireEmbrace a Team Member—Invite and EquipCoach an Apprentice—Select and IncludeMentor a New Leader—Develop and Empower

10 Core Skills Required to Develop Leaders in the Church

1. Connect.

Leadership begins at the place where we connect at a heart level. Connection is the beginning of all true influence. Authenticity is at the core of connection and is essentially about you being real as a leader, it's about being yourself. You will never connect if you self-protect (attempt to hide the real you.)

2. Appreciate.

The ability to appreciate people as God made them is the foundation for seeing what they can become. Appreciating people the way they are can seem like a tension for leaders because we want to help people grow, improve and realize their potential. So, we challenge because we care about them. But we need to be careful not to push so much that our intentions are misunderstood. It's important that we love and appreciate people the way they are.

3. Encourage.

The ability to encourage attracts people to you and builds their self-confidence. Encouragement is the emotional fuel that enables people to hold longer, reach farther and dig deeper than previously believed possible. If you're an encouraging leader, people move toward you simply because you help them think, feel and believe better about themselves.

4. Inspire.

Related Articles

Inspiration connects people with the vision and lifts their sights to new possibilities. All leaders must inspire, not just the senior pastor and senior staff. The cool thing is that you get to inspire by your own style, and there are several common styles that you might identify with such as relational, strategic, passion, competence and coaching.

5. Invite.

The ability to invite with conviction gives people the opportunity to serve in distinctive areas of meaningful ministry. The skill of inviting people into ministry is another way of saying recruiting. Your invitation extends an opportunity to be part of something bigger than they are, one they could not accomplish on their own. Be careful not to dismiss recruiting as a management technique. Jesus was a master recruiter. When he said to Peter and Andrew, "Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people," He wanted a yes.

6. Equip.

Training a potential leader in core competencies for specific ministries sets them up for success. Equipping someone involves training them to accomplish specific ministry functions or tasks, such as how to lead a child to Christ or how to demonstrate gifts of hospitality as a greeter. Equipping also helps them carry out the overall responsibility they own as a team member and potential leader for that ministry.

7. Select.

It's a noble thing to prepare the way for someone who might surpass you in leadership. Choosing the right apprentice positions the individual and the church for progress. Making the right selection not only affects the person but the future effectiveness of your church. Ask questions like: Will they follow? Will they serve? Will they learn? Will they sacrifice? And, will they be honest? These questions are just the beginning of a good selection process.

8. Include.

Giving an apprentice real responsibility allows them to experience the reality of leadership. The current leaders need to resist the temptation to protect their territory. Exclusion prevents emerging leaders from rising to their full potential. New leaders need to feel the weight of leadership, be allowed to make mistakes and learn to take responsibility for the role they carry.

9. Develop.

The emergence of a new leader is a great gift to the kingdom of God. The ability to develop leaders is a transformational skill. Developing is a skill that enables an individual to become a bigger, better, stronger person. It's not only about being a leader in the church, but a better leader at home, at work and in the community. It's a holistic process that benefits the church, but the person comes first. Grow the leader, and they will grow the church.

10. Empower.

True empowerment allows a leader to realize their full potential. Extending trust and transferring authority releases a new leader to fulfill their potential and the mission of the church. Empowerment involves extending authority equal to the level of expected responsibility. And at the core of effective empowerment is trust and a confident belief in them as a leader.

I hope this specific skill-set outline resonates with your heart to develop leaders!

Dan Reiland is the executive pastor at 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He previously partnered with John Maxwell for 20 years, first as executive pastor at Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, then as vice president of leadership and church development at INJOY.

Dr. Steve Greene is now sharing stories, teachings, and conversations with guests who lead with love on Love Leads, a new podcast. Listen now.

Help Charisma stay strong for years to come as we report on life in the Spirit. Become an integral part of Charisma’s work by joining Charisma Media Partners. Click here to keep us strong!

Dr. Mark Rutland's

National Institute of Christian Leadership (NICL)

The NICL is one of the top leadership training programs in the U.S. taught by Dr. Mark Rutland. If you're the type of leader that likes to have total control over every aspect of your ministry and your future success, the NICL is right for you!

FREE NICL MINI-COURSE - Enroll for 3-hours of training from Dr. Rutland's full leadership course. Experience the NICL and decide if this training is right for you and your team.

Do you feel stuck? Do you feel like you’re not growing? Do you need help from an expert in leadership? There is no other leadership training like the NICL. Gain the leadership skills and confidence you need to lead your church, business or ministry. Get ready to accomplish all of your God-given dreams. CLICK HERE for NICL training dates and details.

The NICL Online is an option for any leader with time or schedule constraints. It's also for leaders who want to expedite their training to receive advanced standing for Master Level credit hours. Work through Dr. Rutland's full training from the comfort of your home or ministry at your pace. Learn more about NICL Online. Learn more about NICL Online.

Your Turn

Please be considerate and respectful of your fellow posters. If Jesus and your mother would not approve of your writing, you should revise your comment before submitting.

Use standard writing style and punctuation. Complete sentences and proper grammar will help others understand you.

Do not use profanity, obscenities, abusive language or otherwise objectionable content (as determined by Charisma Media moderators, in their sole discretion). Comments should not harass, abuse or threaten another's personal safety or property, make false statements, defame or impersonate someone else.

Do not question others' faith just because you disagree with them. It adds nothing to the discussion and only causes strife.

Do not question why someone comes to this website just because they disagree with you or the content of the article.

Do not post personal information including phone numbers, email or mailing addresses, or credit card information belonging to you or others.

Do not include copyrighted content or other intellectual property that you do not own or have the explicit rights or lisenses to distribute.

Do not post, directly or through links, viruses, misleading, malicious or off-topic content.

Do not use our comments section to advertise your website(s). This includes fequently linking to your site at the end your comments.

We reserve the right to deny commenting privileges of anyone for any period of time for any reason.

Please consider the following statements pertaining to comments posted by you and other visitors to our website:

Appearance of comments, advertisements or hyperlinks made by other commenters on this site do not necessarily indicate or constitute acceptance of or endorsement of the products, companies, corporations, ministries, organizations or agencies in whole or in part by staff members and/or the members of the editorial board of Charisma Media.

Comments are not pre-screened before they post. Charisma Media reserves the right to modify or remove any comment that does not comply with the above guidelines and to deny access of your Disqus account to make additional comments to the website without any notice. If you have been denied access to comment due to a violation of these terms please do not create multiple accounts in an attempt to circumvent the system. The correct course of action is to request a review of your account status by contacting webmaster@charismamedia.com.

Charisma Media is not responsible or liable in any way for comments posted by its users.

If you believe a comment is in violation of the above guidelines, U.S. law or International treaties, or is legitimate "trolling" please flag the post or contact webmaster@charismamedia.com. Include a link to the comment, along with a statement explaining what you believe the violation is and any evidence backing your claim. Charisma Media moderators will consider your request and decide on the most appropriate action.